


Mediator

by whitehorsetiger



Series: Pack Dynamics [10]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Background Relationships, Beta focus, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pack Dynamics, Pack Feels, Team as Family, beta hunk, instincts, mediation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 08:41:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18634699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: Betas make up the largest proportion of the population. They also normally make up the majority of a pack. They do have a distinctive scent, however this is often more mellow than that of an omega or an alpha, making them the best for diffusing tense situations. Beta fertility lays somewhere between that of alphas and omegas. They do not go through heats or ruts, and presentation is only marked by a change from pup to adult scent.5 times Hunk stopped a fight + 1 time he didn't





	1. Five

_Betas make up the largest proportion of the population. They also normally make up the majority of a pack. They do have a distinctive scent, however this is often more mellow than that of an omega or an alpha, making them the best for diffusing tense situations. Beta fertility lays somewhere between that of alphas and omegas. They do not go through heats or ruts, and presentation is only marked by a change from pup to adult scent._

 

**One**

Growing up in a family of betas there was very little doubt in Hunk’s mind of what secondary sex he would be. Although what secondary sex your family was wasn’t always the best predictor for what you would be, Hunk hadn’t exhibited any signs of being either an alpha or an omega. So, when his scent slipped from pup-sweet to adult beta, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone.

“Dude, are you ok?” Hunk asked, nudging Lance lightly.

 

Lance seemed to snap back from wherever his head had been, turning to look at Hunk and nodding. “What? Oh, yeah I'm fine,” said Lance, very clearly not paying attention.

 

“Are you sure? You seem a bit... out of it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good,” Lance said, waving his hand.

 

It was not particularly reassuring, especially as Lance still wasn’t even really looking at him. Hunk tried to see what he was looking at, but there wasn’t anything of interest. He wasn’t even touching his lunch! Although it was Garrison cafeteria food, so he couldn’t really blame him. 

 

“Are you sure?” Hunk asked again, frowning worriedly.

 

“Yes, Hunk, I’m fine,” Lance snapped a little, before burying his face in his hand. “Sorry.”

 

Hunk hummed, still very worried, but he decided drop it for now. Lance was having a rough time, what with having recently presented therefore being a bit more sensitive. He’d get it out of Lance eventually, maybe ambush him after lessons... gently pry it out of him while they walked back to their quarters. With that plan in mind, Hunk smiled brightly.

 

“Alright, just, you know you can talk to me about these things, okay?” Hunk said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

 

Lance shot him a suspicious look, but Hunk just smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

 

****

 

There was always a general air of tension during and around lesson time. A bunch of recently presented teenagers shut together in a small place? What could possibly go wrong? Hunk tried not to let it effect him, but it really wasn’t easy. 

 

Wandering over to where Lance's class was, Hunk slowed down as he approached a group of people very clearly having an argument. Speeding back up, Hunk breathed out a sign of relief when he spotted Lance stood on the edge of the group, clearly not partaking. A muscle was jumping in Lance’s jaw though, so Hunk grabbed and hauled him away from the situation before he could get involved. No way in hell was he going to try break up an alpha fight.

 

“What was that about?” Hunk asked, keeping a very firm grip on Lance's shoulder.

 

“Absolutely nothing important,” Lance replied. Letting out a long breath, then a groan, Lance scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I hate being an alpha,” he grumbled softly.

 

Hunk turned, squishing him into a tight hug. “It’ll get better,” he said, “You’ll mellow out. Besides, remember I’ve always got your back, dude.”

 

“Even if I start stupid arguments?”

 

“Especially if you start stupid arguments.”

 

**Two**

 

For all intents and purposes their pack should not function. It was completely and utterly unbalanced. But, then again, none of them really confirmed to stereotypes. 

 

Hunk, Lance, and Pidge were laying across one of the sofas, falling asleep after a long and stressful mission. Although… Hunk gave Lance a quick poke. Yup, he was asleep. All three of them were basically running on empty—Altean training regiments were harsh. Couple that with long, sometimes tedious battles, and pure exhaustion often had them down like this. But obviously, this short bout of peace couldn’t last.

 

Hunk wanted to cry when the alarms went off. It took much longer for the three of them to get up than normal. Luckily—or unluckily—they hadn’t completely taken off their armour, so it was much faster pulling on the few pieces they needed.

 

Everyone was already on the bridge when they got there, although Shiro had the look of a man that clearly wanted to be literally anywhere else. Even Keith looked completely unenthused, his eyes drooping a little. Allura started her long spiel about what they were doing, who they were helping and Hunk tried to pay attention—he really did—but Pidge and Lance were making quips at each other, giggling all the while. They just happened to be much more interesting.

 

“Alright team, let's go!” Shiro said suddenly.

 

The three of them jumped. Keith snapped awake in surprise. Shiro shot them a look that was a mixture of disappointment and understanding as they all shuffled off towards their lions. 

 

It wasn’t particularly difficult, nothing like the mission they’d had that morning… afternoon? Time was strange in space. They cleared out the few Galra ships and foot solders that were occupying the planet and surrounding area. There weren’t many so it was doubtful the planet had had any resources.

 

When they had finally managed to finish off the last of them and Hunk was fantasizing about food and bed, Allura dropped another bombshell.

 

“They wish to throw us a ball in celebration! Return to the castle quickly so we can all head down together,” Allura announced brightly.

 

There was a long, tense silence. Then almost immediately everyone began to protest. Hunk could see his hopes of dinner and bed flying out of the window. Allura's face flashed up on screen and Hunk almost dreaded her reply. That was until it slipped into something a little more sympathetic.

 

“We will try to keep it brief, but we must accept this invitation,” she said, “It is highly disrespectful to decline.”

 

“Come on, team,” Shiro said, although his voice fell a little flat, “let’s... get this done.”

 

There was a general muttering of discontent, but no one argued.

 

****

 

Apparently, for these people, there was no such thing as keeping it brief. There was a tour of the city, an attempted tour of the planet they had to politely refuse, and what felt like hours of speeches before they even got to the ball. They couldn’t even eat any of the food—not if they didn’t want to end up in a coma. So now everyone was tired _and_ hungry, which of course made for a winning combination.

Their smiles had shifted to more grimace-like, or just outright dropped completely.

“I’m so hungry,” Lance groaned, leaning against Hunk’s shoulder.

“I know, buddy,” Hunk said, letting out a long breath. “This is brief?”

“Time is strange in space,” Lance said.

Hunk nodded, eyes flicking around the room.

“You know, I wonder if that food tastes amazing,” Hunk said, narrowing his eyes at the buffet, “Like… risk a coma amazing…”

“I am right behind you, buddy,” Lace replied, grinning, “At this point, a coma seems welcome.”

“You’re not eating the food,” Shiro said, appearing behind them. Keith was stood beside him, staring at the buffet.

“I mean…” Keith said.

“No,” Shiro said firmly, “I’ve talked to Allura and she is working to get us out of here, just… hang on… and please, don’t eat the food. I’m going to find Pidge.” With that, he walked off, shooting looks over his shoulder.

“Please,” Keith said, “like he’s never eaten something he’s not supposed to before.”

Hunk and Lance raised their eyebrows.

Keith let out a long breath. “Don’t… don’t ask, there are too many times of food poisoning to go into them all.”

Lance began to pester Keith, trying to get more information out of him. Hunk was going to try stop them, but Keith didn’t seem all that bothered, so he left them be. Scanning around the sea of heads instead, Hunk spotted Pidge surrounded by some tall aliens.

“I see Pidge,” Hunk said, “I’m going to grab her.”

He began to weave through the crowds, loosing Keith and Lance somewhere along the way. They’d probably be fine on their own. Besides, now that he could see her properly, Pidge looked furious. Hunk tried to navigate through the crowd faster, while also trying his hardest not to knock into anyone.

The crowd surrounding her didn’t seem to have noticed her frustration, chattering brightly to and over her. Whatever they were saying was clearly not amusing to her, making her face sourer and sourer. Hunger and exhaustion were probably playing into this.

Hunk finally reached the small circle surrounding her, reaching through the spaces between them to place a hand on her shoulder. Using this, he pulled her out of the centre and to his side.

“Sorry, paladin business,” Hunk said, dragging her away before he’d have to lie more.

“Paladin business? It better not be another mission,” Pidge practically spat.

“No,” Hunk said, “Shiro said he’s going to get us out of here.”

“Good,” Pidge said, “These people have no sense of privacy… also I’m starving.”

Hunk nodded. “Food and a nap.”

Pidge groaned a little. “Yes.”

They reached the area where he thought he’d left Lance and Keith, although it was a bit difficult to judge. He glanced around, trying to spot where the hell they had gone or where Shiro was. Allura wove through the crowd towards them, shuffling around a little awkwardly as she was surrounded every time she managed to get anywhere.

“Have you seen Lance, Keith, and Shiro?” She asked, “We have been given permission to leave and Coran has prepared us a lovely supper.”

Hunk fought the face he wanted to pull, instead deciding to focus on her question rather than whatever horror was awaiting them on the ship.

“They were here,” Hunk said, “but they must have wandered somewhere.”

Allura nodded, eyes scanning over the heads of the crowd.

“Ah, there they are,” she said, “Oh dear.”

Shiro was marching through the crowd, one hand on Lance’s shoulder, one hand on Keith’s shoulder. He had his thoroughly-disappointed-dad look on his face. Lance was looking at his feet but clearly fighting a smile, Keith was staring straight a head with a much better poker face. None of them said anything, but Hunk had a pretty good idea what happened.

“You tried to eat the food, right?” Hunk asked, lagging a little behind so the others couldn’t overhear.

“Duh.” Lance shrugged with a smile.

**Three**

With the loss of Keith, their little pack began to fall apart. There was so much tension between everyone that it made it so difficult to be around anyone. To Hunk’s surprise, the two that seemed to be having the most difficulty were Lance and Shiro. Even though they were both alphas, both of them were usually mellow enough for it not to be an issue. Now though…

Everyone’s focus was ping-ponging between Lance and Shiro, Hunk wanted to intervene but really didn’t think he would actually achieve anything. Neither of them were raising their voice, but the pure iciness there was far more effective than yelling. Lance was even puffing himself up a little, which he never did.

The tension just kept building, growls rumbling in both alphas’ throats. Hunk had to do something or this would end in a fight. That could not happen. Reaching up, Hunk wrapped his hand around Lance’s wrist, giving it a slight tug. Lance’s eyes snapped down to Hunk, anger still clear in them.

They didn’t need to speak to have a conversation, having known each other far too long to even bother with words. Lance needed to drop it, concede to Shiro’s point. A fight would probably break their entire pack apart and possibly end in Lance getting injured. Hunk knew he couldn’t stop Shiro, so he had to appeal to Lance.

Though Hunk tried to convey all of this, he was pretty sure he didn’t manage as hurt flashed through Lance’s eyes. Even without the full understanding, Lance took Hunk’s advice and conceded. Lance sat through the rest of the meeting seething, but didn’t say one word. At the end, he stood up and left the room immediately. Hunk stared down at his hand, letting out a long breath and squeezing his eyes closed. How had everything become so messed up?

**Four**

Home. It was a strange, crazy thing to be back. They’d been back for some time and Hunk still couldn’t get his head around it. He could cook with his parents, fix up some vehicles while chatting to his siblings, re-bond with his Voltron pack and… it was just nice to talk to other humans again.

Hunk had contented himself in the kitchen, he’s never thought he’d miss earth ingredients…or how grateful he’d be to get them back.

“Am I alright hanging out for a bit?” Keith said, gesturing to a nearby stool.

“Yeah, sure.” Hunk nodded.

Keith slumped down, propping his head up on the breakfast bar. Something was very clearly bothering him, Hunk wasn’t going to pry though. Keith was drumming his fingers lightly on the counter, shuffling around like he was trying to get comfortable.

“Does it bother you that we’re back at the Garrison?” Keith asked, picking at his nails lightly.

Hunk’s mixing slowed down as he considered the question, tilting his head from side to side. It was a bit strange being back at the Garrison, but Hunk had never had the problems that Keith and Lance had here.

“Not really,” Hunk said, “Why? Does it bother you?”

Keith hummed, slumping down so his arms were crossed, his chin resting on his wrists. “I guess? Sort of? I don’t know, we were all young. Teenagers… can’t really hold a grudge.”

“But?” Hunk prompted.

“I mean, I’m allowed to be a little bitter,” Keith said, “But I… I spoke to Lance and it seems to be really bothering him.”

Hunk stopped his mixing. Luckily it wasn’t time sensitive.

“Lance… had a lot of trouble at the Garrison,” Hunk said, “Especially after you left… You’re better off asking him about it. I think he’s a bit conflicted…”

“Right…” Keith said.

They sat there in silence for a little longer, Hunk going back to his cooking. Keith was very clearly deep in thought, drumming his fingers lightly and frowning.

“Right,” Keith said again, more decisive. He stood up, barstool scraping on the ground. He had a very angry frown on his face.

“Keith?” Hunk said suspiciously, “What are you doing?”

“I… I…” Keith made a frustrated noise, “I don’t know… I just…”

Hunk motioned to the stool again and with a defeated sigh, Keith dropped to sit back down.

“You know you’ll just upset Lance if you get into a fight for his sake,” Hunk said.

“I wasn’t planning on…” Keith started, but one look from Hunk made him fall silent.

“You need to find a different way to show your affection,” Hunk advised.

Keith glared a little, but there was no heat behind it. “I can show my affection just fine,” he said, rolling his eyes.

Scraping the dough into his prepared tin, Hunk placed it into the oven, setting the timer before turning back to Keith.

“Just… take care of him ok?” Hunk said, “You both deserve to be happy.”

Keith’s cheeks had gone pink and his eyes were looking a bit watery, but he blinked them away and cleared his throat.

“Thanks, Hunk,” he said quietly.

“Anytime,” Hunk replied, resting his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “Don’t you dare hurt him.”

Keith’s eyes widened, but, before he could respond, the door opened. Both of their heads snapped towards it as Lance walked in.

“Am I interrupting?” Lance asked, glancing between the two of them.

“We were talking,” Hunk said, squeezing Keith’s shoulder before letting go.

Keith nodded, sliding up to his feet. “I should probably get going, I have a meeting,” Keith said with no enthusiasm.

“Oh,” Lance said, face falling a little, “I’ve been looking for you to hang out.”

Keith hummed, stepping up and resting his hands on Lance’s shoulder. He lent up, pressing their lips together and, oh look, something interesting was happening on the counter, Hunk better examine it carefully. Lance hummed and oh, yes, spatula, that is a very nice spatula. Hunk turned around to… watch his cake cook, just got to make sure it’s ok... Apparently, Keith was alright with PDA. Hunk wouldn’t normally mind but there wasn’t really much to distract him.

“We’ll do something after ok?” Keith said, “I’m sure I can make it up to you.”

Oh wow, that was a nice cooling rack. Was his timer nearly up? Nope… not yet.

“Ooo, I can’t wait,” Lance said brightly.

Ah man, he couldn’t quite find the oven gloves, better look for those. The door opened and closed as Keith finally left and Hunk could stop pretending to find everything else interesting.

“So,” Lance started, taking up Keith’s vacant seat, “What were you two talking about?”

Hunk shrugged. “Nothing of interest.”

The oven beeped for the perfect distraction.

“Mind giving me a hand with these?” Hunk asked, gesturing.  

**Five**

“Ok, so just press that button and… there you go,” Pidge said, guiding Allura carefully through the game.

Lance and Pidge had been teaching Allura how to play, which had been a surprisingly long process. She just didn’t seem to get it. She was enjoying herself though, so they persisted. Hunk didn’t get involved, but he enjoyed watching.

“Ah! Ah! Pidge! I did it!” Allura said brightly.

“Yes! Well done!” Pidge cheered, “Now, just carry on down through that door.”

Allura nodded and continued on, staring avidly at the screen. The door slid open with a soft whoosh and Lance stepped in, making his way over to join Hunk on the loveseat. He looked rough, _very rough_ , in fact he looked like he’d been crying.

“Are you alright?” Hunk asked.

Lance looked at him, blinking a little, before his eyes began to water. Lance began to sob quietly, curling in on himself. Hunk didn’t even think he moved so fast, pulling Lance into a tight hug along with the blanket that was draped over the back of the sofa. Lance buried his face in Hunk’s shirt, sobbing loudly. Wrapping the blanket tightly around Lance’s shoulders, Hunk rubbed up and down his back.

“What happened?” Hunk asked.

“Me and Keith had a fight,” Lance mumbled miserably.

Now this in itself wasn’t unusual. Lance and Keith were both very stubborn and opinionated, so them arguing wasn’t that uncommon. Lance seeking Hunk out after an argument was also not unusual; he liked a bit of a complain after. Lance coming to Hunk after an argument _crying_? Now that was something to worry about.

“Oh no,” Allura said, “What happened?”

Lance’s sobbing had caught her and Pidge’s attention, the game paused as they turned focused on him.

“I mean, you guys are going to make up tomorrow,” Pidge said, completely sure.

Hunk let out a long breath. She was obviously right, but she didn’t have to outright state it. Lance shook his head, curling up a little tighter.

“No?” Hunk asked, “What do you mean?”

“Keith’s gone,” Lance croaked, “He left on a Blade mission. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

Silence. Complete, dead silence. Then Allura stood up and marched out of the room, a stormy look on her face.

“That’s what we argued about,” Lance continued softly, “He just walked into our room and said he was leaving.”

“What a jerk!” Pidge said, “He can’t just leave us like that!”

“Well he did,” Lance grumbled, “Right in the middle of the argument.”

“He’s dead,” Pidge replied, “When he comes back, I’m going to kill him.”

“Pidge no,” Lance said, “You can’t.”

“I can and I will,” she declared, crossing her arms.

Allura came storming back in, dropping to sit on the cushions on the floor.

“’He’ll get back when the mission ends. You said there weren’t any missions for Voltron coming up. I thought he had your full permission,’” Allura said in a false-deep voice, “Kolivan just seems to be even more difficult to talk too than normal.”

Lance sniffled softly and Hunk reached blindly for some tissues, cursing himself for not thinking about it before. Lance wiped his face, his tears having dried up. He still looked miserable though. Pidge and Allura were talking about how mad they were at Keith… and their plans for his gruesome murder. Lance hadn’t specified he and Keith had broken up, so Hunk was still hopeful for reconciliation.

“Let’s have a sleepover,” he suggested, smiling, “I’ll grab some chocolate and make some popcorn. We can make a night of it.”

Lance nodded, rubbing his eyes. “That sounds nice.”

****

It took a long time for Keith to come back, which put everyone on edge. Lance seemed incapable of doing anything but moping, no matter how much the others tried to distract him. As the days dragged on, he just seemed to grow more and more worried with the lack of news.

It had been almost a week! A week with no news and a mopey Lance and Hunk was just about loosing his mind. Maybe he was making breakfast a bit more roughly than normal, but he needed to get his frustration out. A familiar sound and an enthusiastic bark had Hunk looking down. Cosmo sat at his feet, tail thumping against the ground and tongue hanging out. Hunk tensed a little, if Cosmo was here…

“Hey, where have you two been,” Hunk asked, bending down to scratch behind Cosmo’s ears, “Are you hungry?”

Cosmo leaned his head into Hunk’s hand, back leg thumping happily. Hunk smiled, standing up and grabbing the alien dog food Cosmo seemed to have taken a shine to. Cosmo happily began munching away at his food and Hunk realised how much he’d missed the sound. Returning to preparing breakfast, Hunk relaxed his shoulders slightly. He could work out what the hell he was going to say to Keith when he appeared, hopefully with Lance by his side.

Cosmo vanished after finishing his meal, likely to go bother Keith… and hopefully Lance. The team slowly started to filter in, settling down to wait for breakfast. Soon, everyone was there except Lance… and Keith. Hunk had just put the last few plates on the table when the door slid open one last time.

Cosmo bounded forwards, immediately diving under the table to beg for food. Lance stepped in behind him and following Lance was…

“You,” Pidge hissed, pointing at Keith, “You have some nerve.”

Keith at the very least had the decency to look ashamed, looking down at his feet. Allura had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. Hunk was a little surprised Keith wasn’t dropping dead from her glare.

“I’m sorry,” Keith said, “I’m so sorry.”

Pidge practically growled, but Hunk cut her off before either she or Allura could go off on Keith.

“Lance?” Hunk said, “Are you alright?”

Lance nodded, smiling lightly.

“We… ah… we talked things through,” Lance said, “We still have some stuff to work out… but…”

He reached over and took Keith’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Both of them were looking a little rough, heavy bags under reddened eyes. He’d have to trust Lance’s judgement.

“You guys hungry?” Hunk said, gesturing to the table.

Pidge let out an angry huff, but dropped it. Allura was still frowning, but dropped her arms to rest her hands on the table.

“Starving,” Keith said, smiling a little awkwardly.

As he walked past Hunk, the beta whispered softly.

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“Believe me,” Keith murmured back, “I won’t.”


	2. Plus One

_Although they are more often associated with calming and ending arguments with words, if provoked, betas can be driven to physical violence. They are just as protective of their pack as omegas and alphas, and can spit and hiss or grumble. They also have something similar to an alpha voice, which is not as powerful but can cause an attacker or pack member to pause. They can also let out a warning call._

**Plus One**

The Castle Ship had become almost a space hub, slowly floating through space from planet to planet. It wasn’t unusual for many different people from many different planets to hitch a ride, with or without their own ships. Hunk and Pidge were in heaven, picking through blueprints and programming to see how everything worked.

Currently they were working on one of the Altean pods, adding a few adaptations from one of the most recent visitor’s blueprints. Pidge was tapping on her laptop while Hunk had his head buried in the circuitry, shifting through the wires there. The doors hissed open, footsteps making their way over, then a very powerful scent hit Hunk like a truck.

“Hey,” Lance greeted, like he didn’t stink of Keith’s pre-heat, “What’s going on?”

“We’re adding a nee-scanner system to the pod,” Pidge responded, “It should be much more effective but it’s being an ass to get working. Something about the Altean programming is just not agreeing. You stink by the way.”

“I know,” Lance said, “I finally managed to peel Keith off me and get him to nap. I would take a shower but… I don’t think he’d like that.”

A slight shock from one of the wires as he slid it into place made Hunk jerk, banging his head on the console.

“Hunk? You alright?” Lance said.

Rubbing his head, Hunk leant out from the behind the pod, rubbing his head. “Yeah, fine. Pidge, I think I’ve got this all wired up correctly. Give it a test.”

Hunk hit a few buttons on the console and Pidge tapped on her laptop for a moment. They watched and… nothing.

“Well, alright then,” Pidge said, “Switch it all off. Let’s see what we can do.”

They clicked off everything again and got back to work.

“Won’t Keith be upset when he wakes up and you’re not there?” Pidge asked.

“No, he’s only in pre-heat,” Lance replied.

“Huh,” Pidge said, “heats are strange.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Lance agreed.

“Alphas are strange too,” Hunk pointed out.

“I’ll never deny that,” Lance shrugged, “Keith’s pre-heat scent smells great to me.”

“Strange,” Pidge said, shaking her head.

“Oh, I managed to get Allura up to level four,” Lance said.

“How the hell did you manage that?” Pidge said, “She kept getting stuck on the bit with the barmaid!”

“I managed to get through to her… finally,” Lance said.

“Finally,” Pidge sighed.

Hunk and Pidge got back to work, with Pidge and Lance chatting about the game and Allura’s progress. Hunk fiddled with the wires again… maybe it was something elsewhere that was faulty, or something with Pidge’s part.

After a while, the door hissed open again. If Hunk thought Keith’s scent was strong where it’d rubbed off on Lance, that was nothing compared to when Keith himself walked in. It wasn’t like it was the first time he’d smelt Keith’s pre-heat scent; the omega liked to continue working right up until his heats. Even so, it was still overpowering.

Hunk hauled himself out of the back of the pod where he’d managed to tuck himself into. Pidge and Lance were sat beside each other, chatting happily. Keith had tucked himself behind Lance’s back, burying his face in his neck.

“Well, I’ve done everything I can,” Hunk declared, “That should work now.”

“What are you trying to do?” Keith asked, sounding a little rough.

“Trying to get this new scanner to cooperate,” Pidge said, “It’s not working.”

Keith hummed, pressing himself even closer to Lance. Pidge tapped lightly on her keyboard again, a deep frown on her face. She chewed on her lip, tilting her head from side to side. The hanger was silent apart from her typing, everyone else letting her work in peace.

“Alright, alright,” she said eventually, “I think that’s got it, give it a shot.”

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as Hunk clicked everything on again, Pidge hit a couple more keys and… it began to light up! Then it completely crashed.

“No!” Pidge shouted, “Damn it!”

****

Lance and Keith didn’t turn up for breakfast the next morning. It was not difficult to work out why. Keith’s heats were just a part of life; they simply had to get on with it. There were a few aliens who seemed confused on where the two of them had gone, but giving them the excuse of illness often stemmed their curiosity.

Hunk was very excited though. Shay was staying with them for a couple of weeks and he was determined to make her time there as nice as possible. She and Hunk were currently sat watching a movie, hands clasped together. Shay seemed to be enjoying herself, even if she wasn’t all that sure what was going on. Having not watched many Earth movies, she didn’t pick up on clichés so easily… which actually seemed to help her enjoy them more.

It was just getting to the good part when the Castle alarms went off. It had been a long time since he’d heard that sound. Voltron was rarely needed recently… even less so for an emergency.

“Are those the alarms?” Shay asked.

“Yes… they are,” Hunk replied.

“Do you know why?” she said.

“I have no idea…must be something serious,” he said, standing up, “You head to the bridge, you can keep an eye on everything there. Looks like Voltron’s going on a mission.”

She nodded. “Alright, what about Lance and Keith?”

Oh, Hunk hadn’t even thought of that.

“We might be two lions short,” Hunk said, pulling a face, “We should be alright though.”

Shay nodded, grabbing his hands and giving them a light squeeze.

“Good luck, do well and save the universe.”

Hunk smiled, pulling her into a hug.

“We’ll manage.”

****

Pidge, Hunk and Allura stood in the planning room in their armour. Coran was by their side fiddling with the holo-map.

“The weapons factory is located here, in the mountain,” Allura said, gesturing, “We believe this is where the rouges will be. It is essential we do not let them get their hands on any of the weapons.”

The door slid open and, to everyone’s surprise, Lance tumbled in. He looked a little rough, hair damp, but he smiled and walked over to the table.

“Sorry, I needed to get the heat scent off me,” he said.

“We didn’t think you’d be joining us,” Allura said.

Lance shook his head, “You caught us between waves, Keith managed to convince himself to let me go. It may be a little rough but we’ll manage. Alright, what’s going on?”

Allura gave him a quick run-down on what was happening and the two of them came up with a plan. It was a bit tricky working around only four lions and no chance of Voltron, but they did the best they could. Plan established, they headed out.

Everyone was anxious, either because of the mission, or because Lance was massively on edge. It was probably a mixture of the two. Allura was positioned outside in the Blue Lion, ready to shoot down any ships that tried to get away. Pidge, Lance, and Hunk were in the factory, trying to flush the rouges out. They weren’t Galra, but they were just as power-hungry. Any they found were handcuffed and put in the main hanger, which Hunk was currently guarding.

Unfortunately, the factory was a complete maze. With their scanners they could get a reasonable idea of where they were, but nothing exact.

“Alright, almost there,” Pidge said, “There seem to be only a couple left.”

 “Allura, do you want to land and give us a hand with the last two?” Lance asked.

“I’m on my way,” she replied.

A shout, a scream, then static.

“What was that?” Hunk asked.

“I don’t know?” Allura replied, “Lance? Pidge? Come in.”

More static.

“Pidge! Lance! Come in!” Allura said again.

“Guys? You there?” Hunk asked. Bringing up the display in his armour, Hunk tapped a couple of times to bring up Pidge and Lance’s locations. “You almost down?” Hunk asked Allura, “I’m going to look for them.”

“Go ahead,” Allura responded, “I’m just at the first set of hanger doors.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.”

Weaving between the huge machines was… difficult. It was one of the reasons Lance and Pidge had spent so long searching.

“Guys?” Hunk said through the comms again, “This better not be a trick.”

Squeezing around a large tank, Hunk froze as he heard voices. Crouching down so he was concealed by pipes, he shuffled forwards.

“There is another one guarding the others,” a gruff, slightly muffled, voice said.

“If they’re anything like these two, it should be easy,” said another.

“You’re kind of stupid,” Lance’s voice commented.

Hunk poked his head out just in time to see one of the rogues bring the butt of their gun to the side of Lance’s face. Lance grunted in pain and what was probably going to be a very nasty bruise started to form. Hunk felt his anger starting to simmer.

“You know if we fail this whole place is rigged to blow,” Pidge declared.

She too was cracked across the face, head snapping to one side. She hissed in pain. Hunk began to move, shuffling around the machinery to get behind the enemy.

The comms crackled then and Keith’s voice sounded came through, weak and a little staticky.

“Hunk, what is happening down there?”

“They’ve got Lance and Pidge,” Hunk replied quietly, “I’m trying to get them back.”

A harsh breath crackled across the comms, then another. Keith was probably trying to fight off his instincts, snap out of his heat.

“Can you manage?” he said, “Can you bring them back?” There was a quiver to his voice, a slight air of panic behind it.

“Yeah,” Hunk replied, “I promise I’ll bring them back.”

Another harsh breath. “Ok, get Lance to call me.”

“I will,” Hunk whispered.

He was finally behind the rouges. They were still talking but Lance and Pidge were still interrupting and Hunk could see the exact moment the aliens snapped. Lance and Pidge were slammed to the ground, boots stomping into their faces and ribs.

Hunk wasn’t really sure what happened then, but next think he knew the rouges were unconscious on the ground and his hand was throbbing.

“Oh, Hunk, nice one,” Lance cheered weakly, sitting up and hissing. His face was a bit of a mess and Pidge’s wasn’t much better.

“Gah, that hurts,” Pidge groaned.

“Can you guys walk?” Hunk asked, quickly cuffing the unconscious rouges.

“Yeah,” Lance said, “I think my legs are the least injured part of me.”

Pidge nodded in agreement, standing up and rubbing her side. The two of them glanced around for a moment before picking up their helmets.

“Call Keith,” Hunk told Lance, “He’s worried.”

Lance nodded, slipping his helmet on and tapping on his armour’s screen. “Hey, love,” he greeted when Keith answered, before hushing softly, “It’s okay, I’m okay.”

Hunk gave Pidge a hand up, then the three of them made their way back to the hanger, dragging along the two rouges behind them.

****

The hanger doors hissed open, and the four of them stepped out into the main hub. Coran and Shay stood there waiting for them, the latter supporting an exhausted looking Keith.

“Keith!” Lance exclaimed, striding over.

Keith’s legs were shaking very badly as he walked towards Lance and if Hunk thought his pre-heat scent was strong… he was so wrong. Keith’s heat scent was incredibly powerful and it wasn’t even full blown.

Keith basically fell into Lance’s arms, pressing his face into Lance’s scent gland.

“What happened?” Keith asked, pulling back slightly to look at Lance, “Your… you need to go in a healing pod!”

“I’ll be fine for now. You need to get back to the nest,” Lance said, scooping Keith up into a princess lift and then turned to the others. “I’ll see you guys in a couple more days,” he said.

Keith started to protest, repeating that Lance needed to go into a healing pod. He gave up pretty quickly though, making a soft protesting noise before curling up slightly.

“Well, _I’m_ going into a healing pod,” Pidge said, walking past them.

“Are you alright?” Shay asked Hunk, reaching out to take his hands.

“Yes,” Hunk smiled, “I’m just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betas need more love...Hunk needs more love...  
> Some of them have a bit of a loose definition of stopping a fight but...you know...whatever....
> 
> Idk...I don't really have anything else to say, it was interesting to write from an outside perspective on a relationship...
> 
> Anyway, comments and kudos are always appreciated, thanks for reading!


End file.
